2YEARSLATER
by yaddame
Summary: during the gathering, ryoma saw a different sakuno which made him feel a little...different. after which ryoma made a decision. after the gathering, ryoma appears in sakuno's class!
1. gathering pt1

After 2 Years...

1/When gathering turns embarrassment...

"Ryom...ryoma...ryoma..." cheerings from various people could be heard at the airport. They were of different genders and height, but one thing remained the same; the banners or posters that they were carrying contained the picture of the same person, Echizen Ryoma.

...

A figure appeared from the arival hall. He was immediately recognised by the crowd with him wearing his usual cap. It had a R imprinted on the cap. R stands for Ryoma.

...

(chorus of FUTURE starts playing)

Ryoma whipped out his phone unwillingly.

Surely it must be some reporters or some interviewers from sports magazines, Ryoma thought to himself.

...

"Kiddo !!! Welcome back to Japan !!!"

it was a familiar voice, yet he could not remember who it belonged to.

...

"Who are you?"

...

a cold voice was heard from the receiver. Eiji was rather annoyed at Ryoma's response.

...

"Your Eiji-senpai from Seigaku !!!"

...

oh, Eiji-senpai, Ryoma thought to himself. It has been a really long time.

...

"so?"

...

So??! What's the matter with kiddo's attitude??! Oh whatever, since he's now world no.1 tennis player for the junior category...Eiji thought to himself. He recalled seeing Ryoma's face almost all the time in sports magazines, reporting about him defeating various pro-players and finally clinching the sought-after position internationally.

...

"Well come to (address) now, we're having a gathering !!! DO NOT NOT COME !!! see you there !!!"

...

the phone clicked.

...

Eiji-senpai with his usual bubbly voice, Ryoma thought to himself. Perhaps, it would be not bad to go there after all.

...

He hailed for a cab and headed towards the place.

...

...

...

A guy cladded in school uniforom walked towards Ryuzaki Sakuno. He stopped in front of her table and put both of his hands on the sides of it.

...

"Sakuno-chan, please go out with me. I really like you alot!" the guy told Sakuno, who was packing her bag for the day.

...

"Erm...what club do you belong to?" Sakuno asked the guy in front of her.

...

"Tennis club," the guy replied with a smile. He was in the same club as Sakuno. The difference was only their gender.

...

"I'm sorry then. I wont go out with you,"

it was a clear reply by Sakuno. She was once wavered by his good looks and nice attitude, but dating a guy playing tennis was a NONO. She'd had enough trouble liking a guy who loves tennis...she KNEW that guys who play tennis will NEVER have time for girls, guys who play tennis are PLAIN DENSE, and Sakuno never wanted to experience that again. Once, she had been nice and sweet to him, yet to him, she was never in his sight. HE, Echizen Ryoma, was the nightmare of her life.

HE, made her fear guys playing tennis, HE, made her life bitter, HE, made her come to the conclusion that she will NEVER date a guy playing tennis.

...

the guy left with a frown on his face, despondent at the fact that he had been rejected by the love of his life, Ryuzaki Sakuno.

...

"HEY HEY SAKUNO!!!" it was tomoka with her usual LOUD (and noisy) voice.

...

Sakuno was about to turn around when Tomoka continued her words...

"WHY did you REJECT HIM !!!"

Oh gosh, Tomo-chan !!! Sakuno exclaimed to herself inside. Tomoka had made everyone focus on Sakuno, something that the latter did not like.

Sakuno did not utter a word, but Tomoko understood it perfectly.

"is TENNIS the reason? OH SAKUNO you're SOOOOO FOOLISH!!!"

oh please, tomo-chan, STOP yelling...Sakuno thought so inside her.

"okay i shall stop yelling...anyways Horio said that there's a gathering for the Seigaku regulars and the past helpers, and we are invited as well !!!"

...seigaku regulars...

"Eh, tomo-chan, what are the regulars?"

...

you kidding me??! Sakuno has forgotten about the Seigaku regulars??! Especially when her grandma was the coach of the team and her...her crush (previous) was the freshman of the team...HOW CAN SHE EVER FORGET THE REGULARS !!!

...

It wasnt that Sakuno fogot about them, i mean, she will NEVER forget the Seigaku regulars. One person among the regulars was forever in her mind, not in a good way though. Echizen Ryoma. She only pretended to forget, so that she can use it as an excuse to not attend the gathering. She hated such gatherings. it wasnt that she disliked the regulars, she just wanted to avoid Echizen Ryoma.

...

"I DONT CARE !!! GO WITH ME !!!" Tomoka shouted at Sakuno.

"no," Sakuno replied immediately.

...

nevertheless, she was dragged along by Tomoka and Horio, the weirdest yet rather compatible pairing.

...

...

"Ochibi's girlfriend is here !!!" Eiji shouted from the mansion. The mansion was the place the group of ex-Seigaku regulars had rented to organise the gathering/meet up.

"I...Im not," Sakuno looked down and whispered softly to herself. in front of the regulars (ex-regulars i mean), Sakuno was back to her shy and stuttering self.

"Hey hey Eiji ! Stop it. Youre making her embarrassed," Oishi went to the front door as well to pull Eiji back to the seems as though Oishi had not been out of his mama-duty.

"Wuuuu !!!" Eiji tried to talk some more despite her mouth being covered by Oishi's large palm. He was then dragged back by his partner-forever. (Oishi)

Sakuno didnt know how to react seeing this weird scene.

Tomoka and Horio then went into the huge mansion. they were "WOW-ing" all the way. It seems as though the ex-regulars had spent a huge sum ofmoney on this place.

A familiar figure appeared (or should i say a familiar pair of glasses?). He held a tray with him, filled with glasses of drinks.

"thank you inui-senpai, but may i know what are the different drinks?"

Inui adjusted his glasses in his usual "im a pro" way and started to introduce his creation.

"this," he pointed to a glass of red liquid, "is inui's special red," then he pointed to another glass of blue liquid, "inui's special blue,"... (and the introduction goes on...)

...

after everything, Sakuno did not know how to respond. ALL of them were inui's special drink, and she would definitely not want to drink ANY of them.

"Err...Inui-senpai, you can leave it there first, im not thirsty," Sakuno tried to be polite and keep herself away from the drink.

Inui, somehow looking sad that Sakuno did not touch any of his specially-made drinks despite his efforts to introduce them one by one, left her alone.

Phew...Sakuno heaved a sigh of relief. She had heard, and witnessed the ex-regulars drink inui's liquid, and fainted on the spot. Although Fuji-senpai were sometimes immune to the drink, there were also times when he could not take it as well.

she was sitting on the couch, somewhat exhausted, after having not-slept for three days to complete three reports. She closed her eyes slowly, but was woken up by a loud "clang" sound.

Sakuno opened her eyes to see a ball flying towards her at tremendous speed. She dodged it, and the ball hit a vase instead. the vase shattered with another "clang" sound.

"eh eh what's going on !!!" Oishi came out from the kitchen wearing an apron. He put his hands on the sides of his waist, looking rather irritated.

Sakuno saw two figures through the shattered window. one had spiky hair and the other tied a bandanna around his head. Oishi saw that as well.

"MOMOSHIRO !!! KAIDOH !!!" Oishi ran out of the door and chased after the two who were playing tennis at the open area.

looks like oishi-senpai's mama behavious has gotten worse instead, Sakuno told herself.

...5 minutes ago...

"I shall be in charge of the charcoal," momo volunteered when the group of ex-regulars were assigning the jobs.

"psssssssss...no, im in charge of the charcoal," kaidoh said that after momoshiro had volunteered.

"NONONO! im in charge !!!" momoshiro yelled.

"Pssssssss...it's me..."

"you viper !!!"

"who are you calling a viper !!!"

"wanna use tennis to decide??!"

"who's afraid of you !!!"

"huh!!!"

"pssssssssss..."

...and the two went outside to play tennis...

...1 minute ago...

"psssssss..."

"haha youre gonna lose. here's my improved jack knife !!!"

momoshiro hit a jack knife, but he had tilted his body wrongly and the ball went in the wrong direction instead...it headed towards the windows...

...and broke the window...and nearly hit Sakuno...and hit the vase...and Oishi appears from the kitchen...and you know what happened after that...

...and all of a sudden...

"ahem..." a sound was heard from outside the mansion.

"*cough*" this was another sound, orginated from the same place.

"captain, vice captain !!!" both kaidoh and momoshiro cried out at seeing tezuka and his pal, fuji syuusuke.

tezuka nodded to them.

fuji gave them his usual "charming smile"

as expected, when tezuka, fuji and the other seigaku regulars-at-that-time entered seigaku senior high and joined tennis club (once again...), tezuka and fuji were nominated and became regulars in their first year. reaching the second year, they had improved their tennis skills by leaps and managed to convince the other senior regulars that they, the second years, were more fit to be the captain and the vice captain. (tezuka is definitely the captain and fuji, with his excellent skills almost on par to tezuka's became the vice captain) as a result of such decisions, tezuka and fuji met up even often to discuss on tennis practices and any other random stuff, and thus their friendship blossomed even more.

"tezuka, be careful of your shoulder," fuji whispered to tezuka.

...1 hour ago...

tezuka and fuji were inside the doctor's room, waiting for the results. as a reult of tezuka playing toooooo vigoriously in a friendly match with atobe, he had felt pain at his left shoulder once again. fuji being the refree at that time, brought tezuka to the doctors immediately and the doctor had concluded that his pain had came back and hence need to come back often for frequent check-ups...this was the latest check-up...

"tezuka-san, your shoulder has gotten better but then dont strain yourself that much," the doctor advised tezuka.

tezuka nodded.

...and now...

"kawamura's sushi !!!" a man holding a racket said as he sped into the mansion, holding a box of what seems to be containing sushi on the other hand.

kawamura-senpai !!! Sakuno smiled to herself. she had been too familiar with the seigaku-ex-regulars because of her constant yearning to support ryoma for all his tennis matches, that was, when she was still on-high over him. (that brat)

"captain you're back ! can finally distribute the rooms nyah," eiji smiled.

...and so the distribution begin...

"tomoka and sakuno,"

"eiji and oishi," ...

Sakuno didnt bother to listen to the other pairings. she took the keys from fuji and apologised and explained her tireness and went to her/tomoka's room. she was as dead as a log when she had laid on the bed.

...after 5 hours...

"yoush," he waved a hand outside the door. eiji was the first to notice him, the once small petite figure, becoming somehow taller and looking even more arrogant than before.

"ochibi !!!" eiji cried loud to the figure.

indeed, he was the well-known Echizen Ryoma, top of the junior category in the whole world. Nevertheless, he seemed to lose all his authority in front of his ex-senpais, as eiji dragged him in...

"ochibi's here !!! he came here once he had come back !!!" eiji shrieked with his usual loud voice.

it was inui who first offered him his inui's special blue/red/other colours, and ryoma declined his offer just like sakuno.

tomoka cried out "ryoma-sama" as usual but horio pulled her away, after which tomoka managed to free herself and ran to her room.

"sakuno !!! ryoma-sama's here !!!"

horio chased after her after hearing the ex-senpais said that the dinner will begin soon...

"tomo-chan, let's go for dinner,"

tomoka went with him after hearing the word "dinner" and left the door slightly open instead.

...during the dinner...the ex-senpais (except for tezuka and fuji) made ryoma drink wine/beer and other making-people-drunk stuff...after which they headed to their rooms...

and ryoma was struggling to find his room...

and he entered sakuno's room by accident...because it was unlocked...

...ryoma enters sakuno's room...

"mada mada...mada mada..." ryoma kept mumbling to himself...

Sakuno was stirred by his constant mutterings...

(fact 1: tomoka went to sleep with horio so she wasnt in the room...)

Sakuno opened her eyes and saw a figure in front of her...

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

Ryoma was shocked and went to cover her mouth with his hands immediately. it was then he realised that he had entered the wrong room.

"sorry...i...*hiccups* entered the wrong room...*hiccups* dont yell ok?"

sakuno nodded her head although she wasnt sure who the person was...she was still in a dreamy state...but then, she wasnt going to let the person of for barging into her and tomoka's room...wait...why dont i hear tomoka? sakuno thought to herself.

ryoma released his hand but sakuno stood up and wield kicks and fists at him. ryoma then pressed his legs and hands against sakuno's to stop her. instead, sakuno ended up shouting. ryoma, now with his hands and legs occupied, did not hesitate before covering his own mouth with hers to stop her constant yellings.

sakuno was stunned, but was clear awake now...she saw Echizen Ryoma in front of her, the latter still in a drunk state.

however, instincts tolf ryoma he had done something WRONG and he stepped back, covering his mouth with his hands, and ran out of sakuno's room, leaving sakuno is a shocked state...

i hope you like this chapter...please comment and review ^_^


	2. gathering pt2

2/When Ryoma-kun becomes Echizen-san...

the next day...

sakuno was in the kitchen pouring a glass of water for herself when ryoma walked in...

(note: ryoma is WIDE AWAKE now...)

he saw a figure and thought it looked familiar...who was she??? ryoma thought to himself

(remember...he has a habit of forgetting people...but the seigaku-ex-regulars were an exception)

sakuno turned around to face a "confused ryoma" (he was still trying to recall who she was)

after all...anyone that is in this gathering is definitely someone special in the tennis team, even though they may not be one of the regulars, or ex-regulars...

however, when ryoma saw her long braids complimenting her face, he KNEW who she was immediately.

long braids + petite = ryuuzaki-san

at the same time he saw her, he remembered his "embarrassing act" yesterday night. the figure in front of him was the same as that last night.

he knew he did something TERRIBLY WRONG, but then being echizen ryoma, he had no such habit of apologising...

"err...ryuuzaki-san..." ryoma was finding the right words to say. once again, being echizen ryoma with 0 experience on apologising to a girl, he ended up stuttering...

"s...soo...sorry," ryoma, after struggling with his inner self, managed to force out the words.

sakuno stared at him in amazement and shyness, amazed at seeing ryoma stutter, and shy about what happened yesterday...

"yeah...it's okay...ryo...echizen-san," sakuno replied with her head bent down. after which, she left the kitchen.

this time, it was ryoma's turn to be shocked. he never expected sakuno to be able to speak fluently in front of him. as far as he could remember, she will always stutter when facing him, even when she only wanted to cheer/encourage him. however, he remembered that sakuno did stutter abit just now...

he recalled the words..."ryo...echizen-san,"

eh! since when did he became echizen-san. he remembered something different about the way she addressed him, wasnt it?

the inner ryoma: you called her ryuuzaki-san, so it wont be weird if she called you echizen-san

ryoma agreed, but still felt it somewhat weird. nevertheless, he put away that thought and walked out of the kitchen.

in the middle of the hall, he heard the tune of MAKE YOU FREE chorus. sakuno whipped out her phone...

"hello?"

~sakuno-chan!~ (the other end of the phone)

"sho-kun!" sakuno said in a cheery voice.

Sho-kun? who's that? ryoma thought to himself but felt that it was none of his business anyways.

however, a thought came into his mind...

she called him sho-kun and called me echizen-san? something is very weird here.

(-san is used in a more polite form)

...

"hoi hoi let's practice tennis !!!" (=^.^=)

"ok let's..." (fuji hands kawamura a racket) "BURNING !!! LET'S PLAY TENNIS !!!"

(fuji smiles)

(tezuka gave a not-so-obvious smile)

"oishi let's pair up!"

"okay...who's the other doubles team?"

(eiji points to momoshiro and kaidoh)

"WHO WANT DOUBLES WITH THIS VIPER??!"

"who're you calling viper??!"

"who else??!"

"pshhhhhhh"

(at this time inui comes out of his room and handed fuji a glass filled with liquid, in a grotesque colour)

"ah inui your new speciality?"

(inui adjusted his glasses)

"inui's special golden juice"

(but it was NOT gold in colour)

fuji savoured it...

"hmmm..."

(liquid began to flow from the sides of her lips)

(fuji's eyes stared open)

...

...

(and he fainted...)

...

everyone else's thought:

DANGEROUS !!! (referring to 'inui's special golden juice")

...

despite those commotions, ryoma's attention wasnt there at all. he was focussed on the girl standing in front of him, with two pigtails, talking in a rather intimate tone to a guy called sho-kun on the phone.

he was suddenly curious to know who was sho-kun, and he made a decision...

...

he whipped out his phone and pressed in numbers that he was utterly familiar with...

...

...

during the friendly match...

MOMOSHIRO + KAIDOH VS OISHI + EIJI (momo-kaidoh had no choice but to team up after threatened by inui) (using his inui's juice of course .)

TEZUKA VS FUJI (fuji revived and had suddenly gathered lots of energy within him...)

KAWAMURA VS RYOMA (ryoma was pulled along by eiji after he had made his call)

INUI was the referee...for all 3 games

eiji's thought: i wonder how he coped with it...nyah... =^.^=

(inui was the referee because he needed to ensure that whoever loses to drink his juice, so he cannot lose, and so he at best not participate in the matches)

...

GAME AND MATCH 7-5 TO MOMOSHIRO AND KAIDOH

(because momo-kaidoh needed to end this game quickly...they hate such pairing up thus fought hard to win asap)

(at the same time eiji-oishi couldnt synchronise during friendly matches)

GAME AND MATCH 5-7 TO FUJI

(after drinking inui's juice fuji became much more pro than before...)

GAME AND MATCH 6-4 TO KAWAMURA

(ryoma was busy thinking of various stuff)

...

during the match...

ryoma kept looking for the familiar pair of eyes he remembered during his 1st year in seishun gaukuen junior high. he could not find them.

he realised that he was no longer the focus of ryuuzaki sakuno. instead, sakuno was still on her phone. ryoma started to count the length of their conversation...from morning to the match...and now she hadnt hung up yet. he disliked the fact that he was losing attention from her. he was disturbed by the difference in sakuno. he was rather irritated by the fact that sakuno's attention was on someone over the other end of the end, when he was not physically there at all. he didnt like the fact that he 'lost' to a guy who wasnt there at all.

...

after the matches, sakuno was still on the phone.

he felt some sort of loneliness...

it wasnt the same type of loneliness he had when he was in the US

he felt as though, something had been snatched away from him

her attention, snatched away from him by someone called sho-kun

he did not like that

...

"hey hey sakuno talk to ryoma-sama !" tomoka skipped towards sakuno and said into her ear

sakuno did a "shoo" action and continued talking on the phone.

tomoka, however, was not one who easily gives up...she took away sakuno's phone and said "sakuno's not free now, bye" and hung up her phone.

ryoma was silently glad at that. however, sakuno's attention did not return to ryoma as he had predicted...

"tomo-chan !" sakuno told tomoka.

tomoka did a ghost-face and skipped to horio...

sakuno then walked towards fuji and passed him a bento.

"fuji-senpai, your bento as i have promised,"

fuji smiled.

ryoma was unable to hear what she was saying (he was at the other end of the tennis court) but was surprised when sakuno handed fuji a bento.

...

...in actual fact...

fuji has been helping sakuno in her studies ever since ryoma went to the us. to thank fuji, sakuno agreed to do something for fuji. fuji, who couldnt think of anything, decided on free bento for everytime he meets sakuno. (they lived near each other hence it was okay for fuji to come and coach sakuno.)

...

...and now...

fuji, famous for "like to see people suffer", knew that ryoma was looking in their way hence gave a broad smile to sakuno.

"fuji-senpai's smiling?" sakuno questioned.

"yes, so you should smile as well," he replied

sakuno smiled.

ryoma was disturbed upon seeing sakuno's smile.

* * *

thanks to those who listed this ff under their favourites/alert list

it means alot to me, it acts as some recognition, encouraging me to continue this ff

please comment/review. =^.^=


	3. gathering pt3

3/when things were different...

"wuuuuuuuu!!!" eiji dashed out of the tennis court with his hands covering his mouth.

oishi followed suit one minute later...

ryoma KNEW what had happened, and he KNEW that he would suffer the same fate as eiji soon after inui appeared in front of him with a glass of red liquid, whatever he called "drink", which was in fact NOT-SO-DRINKABLE after all :S

let's just say fuji syuusuke was the weird one, the only one that can survive inui's "drinks", other than azure.

the rest cant

they have no such ability

yet they cant escape from fate

they (ryoma + golden pair +tezuka) had to receive their punishment

for losing in their games

(i wonder how many are cursing inui at this time...)

the golden pair had proven that THIS was something that not ordinary people can take in

inui approached the pair first, then ryoma.

he cannot afford to offend tezuka, his ex and current captain

the 3rd-years at that time had stayed together all the while

they had continued to play tennis

tezuka had stuck with his "laps punishment" to whoever that had accidentally offended him

or had caused a nuisance to the tennis group

in fact, the number has increased

at junior high, it was usually 10-20laps, or 50 laps for special cases

at senior high, it was 50-60laps. special cases were "granted" 100 laps !!!

...

"echizen,"

ryoma drank it

"inui's grand masterpiece", he called it

(perhaps he got the idea from you-know-which-school's coach)

but make this clear

THIS WAS NO MASTERPIECE

...

ryoma dashed to the nearest toilet

...

"captain,"

tezuka glared at him

still, a punishment was a punishment

tezuka could not deny this

...

he took the "drink"

...

inui, just you wait...

tezuka had planned out his revenge

"how many laps should it be?"

tezuka thought to himself

...

and he walked out of the court, keeping his fast pace

look cool, look cool...BUT...

he could not do that any further

"grand masterpiece" was totally unbearable

he dashed out of the court

...

...

they were all in the same toilet

not that there was only one in the entire ares

but there was only one NEAREST toilet

...

...

~thoughts flodding through minds~

~(finished puking) nyah THIS was horible~

~(oishi busy puking)~

~why did i bother coming here !!! inui-senpai !!! (continues to puke)~

~80laps? no...100laps? (pukes)~

...

...

sakuno was stunned

it was VERY-KNOWN that inui's drinks were scary

but it seemed that the scariness has increased over the years

...

ryoma-kun, is he okay?

...

deep inside her heart

she still cared for her ryoma-kun

...

...

after all the puking was done (gosh this sounds weird, it sounds some some sort of puking contest =__=")

...

it was already evening

...

dinner was provided by kawamura's sushi-shop

(note: kawamura's shop, NOT his dad's)

...

it tasted better than what ryoma savoured last time

it was heard that kawamura used the arts of hadoukyuu into making sushi

two-handed hadoukyuu, so that it does not hurt his arm

and it has really made sushi taste better than ever

(those making sushi can try it out as well...LOL)

...

(MAKE YOU FREE chorus starts playing)

.

it cant be wrong

ryoma had a premonition that it would be a long converation

it could be him

no...it MUST be him

ryoma concluded

after seeing sakuno's different expression upon receiving the call

he could not describe it

the different in her

it was some sort of ... different

he could not think of any other word to describe her

he started to wonder about her 2years after he left

how did she spend her life?

who did she mix with?

what caused the ... difference ... in her?

he felt as though he was seeing a different sakuno

no longer shy in front of him

no longer focussing on him

no longer cared about him

it was weird

he did not like the change

all of a sudden he felt that the old sakuno was better

although annoying

although disturbing

although unbearable

but he preferred that sakuno to the current one

her looks werent much different

but it was as though

he was seeing a different person

...

"ryoma-ku...no...echizen-kun, are you okay?"

sakuno scolded herself silently

why did she say -kun?

it was meant to be echizen-san

but she could not say the words out

it felt too distant

and so she ended up with echizen-kun

...

she saw him staring into space

it was so unlike the ryoma-ku...echizen-kun she had known

old habits die hard

she was used to ryoma-kun

even though it was only for a mere one-year

it was etched in her mind

he was not those usual school-crush she had along the years

he was different

his world only revolved around tennis

it was this kind of difference in him that she was attracted to

yet it was this kind of difference in him that she hated

because his world revolved around tennis

she was attracted

because his world revolved around tennis

he never did notice her

because his world revolved around tennis

she was hurt

...

"im okay, ryuuzaki,"

he ommited the -san

instead, calling her without -chan makes it sound less-distant

like they have known each other for a long time

when it was not the case

it was not even considered friendship

he did not know how to describe their relationship

it was something, that words cant describe

it was different

...

...

* * *

here's the chapter of "difference"

it was quite fun to add in the elements of "difference" at the back

haha but then it you notice it is actually a very short chapter

the end of this chap doesnt sound so end-of-chap right?

haha

but i thought it would be fun, to end this chap with the element of difference being the main highlight

if i added more scenes it will cover the element of difference that i want to potray to you all ^__^

...

i hope everyone reading this likes this chapter, i thought it had some sort of meaning to it

not just, any random funny/not-funny chapter

but one with like...deeper meaning...and not just simply the plot and dialogue

so if you realise there werent many events happening

just drinking, puking and eating

(gosh im making puking sounds like part of our routine life eeeeeeewwwwwwwkkkkkkk !!!)

and more of ryoma/sakuno thing

...

anyways...

comment comment !!!

(thanks to my first comment-er, your comment lit up my day !!!)


	4. gathering pt4, school pt1

4/when an ending signifies a new beginning...

"nyah why must the weekends be over so soon..." eiji scrambled out of his bed and took out his baggage, ready, but unwilling to pack his stuff.

"cant be helped, it is not even the holidays," ~and i wonder how am i going to explain to the teachers about those undone work~ oishi replied.

...yet it was another atmosphere in another room...

kaidoh took out a lugguage from the top and began packing his stuff

"hey hey that is MY lugguage !!!"

kaidoh turned around

"pssssssss, it's mine," (in a calm tone)

"what yours? it's clearly MINE!!!"

"pssssssss, not yours, mine," (a little disturbed)

"oh come on viper let's not PLAY, you KNOW that's MINE !!!" (a rather annoyed momoshiro)

"who're YOU calling a VIPER??!" (very irritated)

"oh who else, viper !!! that lugguage's mine !!!"

"dont call me viper !!!"

"VIPER !!!"

"psssssssssssss..." (and a fight broke out between the cool pair)

...to the rather mature ones...

"eh tezuka, what are your feelings?" fuji looked at his roommate with the usual smile on his face.

~90laps? no no that's too easy. 120 laps? hmmm...~ (thinking of a punishment for inui whenever possible and was not listening to fuji)

"tezuka ??!"

~but would it be too obvious that im biased against him? hmmm~ (again not listening)

fuji smiled to himself. (or rather not so mature after all =referring to tezuka hmmm...)

...another room...

~probability of success of (inui's) royal special, 25%~

inui jotted down all his findings.

~probability of...tezuka's punishment being more than 100laps...99.9%~

inui shivered at the thought of the hundred laps waiting for him to run.

(kawamura was also packing his stuff and he was about to keep his racket when...)

"BURNING !!! OH COME ON BABY LET'S PACK OUR STUFF !!!"

(and got into "burning" state)

...the ladies' room...

"eh sakuno, dont you think tezuka senpai got really cool?"

~ryoma-kun, seems so different~

"eh sakuno?"

~no sakuno, you should not be thinking of him now...concentrate...~

"SAKUNO??!"

~eh eh?~ "tomo-chan?"

"eh, sakuno, what were you thinking about?"

~thinking about? ryoma-kun...~ "no, nothing much,"

"eh eh sakuno dont you think tezuka senpai and fuji senpai got really cool-er?"

~ryoma-kun's cool as well... eh eh sakuno stop day dreaming !!!~ "ah...yes..."

"eh sakuno, you're weird...did something happen to you and ryoma-sama?"

~something? nothing but the...the kiss...eh eh sakuno stop doing that (thinking of ryoma)~

"ohhhh !!! something happened right??! tell me tell me sakuno !!!"

~tell you? should i tell?~ "eh, nothing happened tomo-chan. you're thinking too much,"

"really?"

~of course not, but then...~ "really..."

...ryoma + horio's room...

"echizen! you know what? im captain of the tennis team!" (starts showing off...)

~not like i care...~ "heh, mada mada dane,"

"eh what mada mada dane??! kaidoh senpai and momoshiro-senpai taught me all they can !!! hah !!!"

~and you wont get a point if you had a match with me~

"eh echizen??! you dont believe me?"

~maybe i can believe you're captain, but then, it's too sad for the tennis team. that's why...heh !"

"echizen?"

~the tennis team will be better soon...heh!~ "stop talking and pack,"

...

...

"we need to send the ladies back," tezuka said.

"i'll send ryuuzaki since she lives near my house," fuji offered himself.

(ryoma) ~ne...~

fuji saw the unpleasant look on ryoma and smiled.

"what about..."

"captain will send me back, right?" tomoka walked to horio's side and gave a dont-you-dare-not-send-me-back look.

"yessssss..." horio replied.

"okay then,"

~ne...i dont like this~

...

...

(bell rings)

~ahhhh made it in time~

sakuno ran to her seat before the teacher arrives

"eh saku-chan how was the weekend?" a guy approached her. he sat beside her during class.

"sho-kun!" sakuno was especially delighted to see him, after she had been tortured to face ryoma for days.

"ah, sorry i got too carried away. hmmm...not so bad," ~at least you were 'virtually ' with me~

"you said you met your crush? how was he?"

"eh eh no no. not my crush. he was just...someone...i liked long ago..." sakuno tried to make this clear to him, as well as to herself.

"and do you have anyone you like now?" sho leaned inwards.

"eh eh..." ~why is my heart thumping so wildly?~ "nobody !!!" (and sakuno got out from her seat) "eh i need the toilet !!!" (and ran out of the class when...)

sakuno bumped into a guy.

"sorry..." sakuno didnt even look up and walked away quickly. she heard a faint voice from behind her.

"mada mada dane"

* * *

~did i just hear that? like seriously that?~

"hi sakuno !"

"oh...hi !" ~am i hallucinating?~

(sakuno bumps into a guy)

"hey watch out !"

"oops sorry," ~oh gosh i must be hallucinating about him. he wont be here...~

...and she finally got to the toilet...

~oh god what just happened? it was all about sho-kun and then im hallucinating about...about...ryoma-kun?~

(starts washing her face and remembered about that intimacy sho had with her just now)

~sho-kun...why does he make my heart thump so fast?~

~when i was with ryoma, i didnt feel that way, that way the heart beats... (but then, really?)~

~but then, we (ryoma and her) didnt share anything much, not like the way sho-kun and i did...~

...recalls about her second year in seishun gakuen...

"eh sakuno-chan, why are you like in a daze?"

(they were doing pair-work)

~he's also from tennis team~ "eh, erm..." ~should i tell him?~ "ok i'll tell you..." ~since he seems like a nice confidante~

...(sakuno talks about her little bit of crush for a guy in the tennis team, but then was afraid of being treated like what ryoma did to her)...

"ahh i see, but then it doesnt mean that all tennis guys are like that," ~at least not me~

"haiz but you wont understand what's on their minds, like their brains filled with only tennis and tennis..." ~and i've had one bad experience, which is enough already~

"no, not all guys are like that," ~i mean, seriously, im not that type of tennis guy~

"hah how you'd know, you dont even play tennis. you're in drama club," ~how will you know my feelings at that time, being treated like non-existant most of the time~

~right, as if i really dont play tennis, im just sick of it. sick of winning...~ "oh please i also play..."

~wait, if i tell her i play tennis maybe she will look at me like those kind of guys she mentioned, and she wont believe whatever i say~

"you play what? tennis?" ~oh please not him also...~

"no i dont. i mean, i am also a guy and all guys are almost the same. no one's like that type you mentioned. maybe that guy yes, but others? not that case," ~and im really not that kind of tennis-only guy~

~phew, he doesnt play tennis. sakuno, he doesnt play tennis! and he looks rather nice and cute as well. maybe...eh eh sakuno wake up. he wont fall for you. who're you to make him like you. you're just an ordinary girl who deserves no attention by guys. and ryoma-kun...it wasnt weird that he ignored you. you arent that special anyway...~

"thanks sho-kun, but then, i really dont believe in tennis guys," ~it's just so nice, being able to talk to someone about all that's in my mind...~

...

...

...the recent phone conversations...

~eh eh saku-chan heard that you went for a tennis gathering...how's it?~

"sho-kun? nice to hear your voice. eh wait a minute..." (walks away from ryoma)

"i saw him again. i thought he wasnt going to be there !"

~him? your ex?~

"not ex, just him..." (turns back to see where ryoma was but then he was called for tennis practice)

~dont deny that he's not your ex-crush. aha so it must be tough for you, being reminded of those days,~

"some sort...haiz...but then, it's really nice that youre calling !"

~hah maybe i should call more often then. haha~

"haha. i dont know what to do when i see him. i still have the impulse to talk to him...but i know i should not..."

~why not?~

"you know what im afraid of...that feeling has faded...but his appearance brings everything back. i realise im back to the stuttering old sakuno in front of him..."

~dont stutter. you're sakuno, ryuuzaki sakuno, that feels nothing for that guy. tell that to yourself~

"i'll try."

...

~saku-chan ! how's life with HIM around?~

"rather fine. no particular interaction though. just nothing much,"

~didnt you two talk?~

"talk? not much as far as i can remember, but then sho-kun what makes you call?" (picking up a sushi with chopsticks)

~just to catch on the latest news on you and your ex-crush,~

"haha...whatever. there's nothing much." (munches on the sushi)

~ok then, see you in school soon !~

"ok see you soon !" (gave a cheery look that ryoma noticed)

...

...sakuno recovers from her memory-flashes-by state...

~it's just amazing, that kind of bond we (sho and her) shared...~ (looks at her watch)

~oh no i should be back to class...~

(runs back to her class)

(only to see a familiar figure standing in front of her)

"oh ryuuzaki you're back. we have a new classmate here. considered an old classmate as well. meet echizen ryoma."

...

...flashbacks...at the gathering...

...

ryoma whipped out his phone.

"yo pretty young man. what makes you call here?"

"ne, old man, i want to study in japan,"

"pretty young man, have you got someone you liked? and wished you'd been able to stay with her? dont lie to your own dad..."

"ne, old man, im not like you,"

"fine...which school you're going to?"

"seishun gakuen,"

"aha, i know it. it must be ryuuzaki's granddaughter..."

"ne..."

"or the other noisy one?"

"ne, old man, stop making wild guesses..."

"but i prefer ryuuzaki's granddaughter..."

"ne..."

"fine, since you wouldnt say...just remember us,"

"yosh..."

"and bring ryuuzaki's granddaughter here someday,"

"yadda! (no way!)"

"fine..." (hung up the phone)

~ne...that old man...~

...end of flashback...

* * *

~e...echizen ryoma?~

"ne...ryuuzaki. nice to meet you, again."

"ryo...oooma?"

(ryoma smirks)

"oh ryuuzaki, it seems that you two know each other. then, ryoma will take the other seat beside yours,"

"huh??!"

"ne, ryuuzaki, i'll be depending on you," (formal greetings)

"ahh...okkk...ay..."

"then, echizen, just follow ryuuzaki and take the empty seat beside her,"

"yosh..."

sakuno walked to her seat. ryoma took the one beside her.

~why is ryoma-kun here?~

~ne, ryuuzaki, i want to see what makes you change this much.~

* * *

another chapter up !!!

it was originally very short as well but then i managed to lengthen it heehee

but then, still not very long... =(

anyways, thanks to my second reviewer

for the constructive comment as well as the compliment

i'll make it longer the next chapter...so please continue to support kays?

haha

all the missing pieces revealed...ryoma's decision...sakuno's ties with sho

sho is a fictional character...i got the inspiration for his name from skip beat lol. fuwa sho

but sho's a nice name, cant deny that

...so...comment/review !!!

all constructive comments will be taken into consideration...so feel free to comment ^__^


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